Under the terms of the agreement, Randgold and Endeavour will hold respectively a 70% and 30% interest in the newly formed joint venture. Randgold will be the joint venture operator and both parties will contribute to the annual exploration budget in accordance with their shareholdings. A $3.8 million exploration campaign has been approved for the remainder of 2017 and 2018.
ABOUT THE EXPLORATION JV PROPERTIES
The adjacent Sissedougou and Mankono exploration properties are located in the northern region of Côte d'Ivoire, at the contact of the shear zone hosting the Tongon mine and the shear zone hosting the Sissingue project and Syama mine.
The Sissedougou property was transferred from La Mancha to Endeavour in late 2015. After nearly 4 years of exploration inactivity, Endeavour re-initiated exploration in 2017 as part of its greenfield program. Sissedougou's potential was initially confirmed with a first 3,378-metre drilling program carried out by La Mancha in 2011, as drill results suggested the presence of an 800-metre mineralized structure.
Selected best drill results at Sissedougou, as published by La Mancha in 2012 (click here to view the press release), were[1]:
- 34.6 m @ 2.08 g/t Au at 74.6 m, including 1.0 m @ 31.52 g/t Au
- 18.8 m @ 2.30 g/t Au at 26.1 m
- 23.0 m @ 2.14 g/t Au at 112.6 m, including 2.0 m @ 10.70 g/t Au
Randgold confirmed the exploration potential of the Mankono property as its trenching program intercepted a mineralised system over a 300m wide corridor and 1km strike.[2]
QUALIFIED PERSONS
The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed, verified and compiled by Gérard de Hert, EurGeol, Senior Vice President Exploration West Africa for Endeavour Mining. Gérard de Hert has more than 19 years of mineral exploration and mining experience, and is a "Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").